McCain ties border security to immigration reform

2/10/13 10:41 AM EST

Sen. John McCain wants increased border security as part of any immigration reform package currently being drafted by a bipartisan group of senators.

"That is basically the agreement," the Arizona Republican said on "Fox News Sunday." McCain is one of eight GOP and Democratic senators attempting to forge an immigration reform package to be considered by the full Senate in coming months.

"There are 11 million people living in the shadows. I believe that they deserve to come out of the shadows," McCain said of the estimated millions of illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States. "The children who were brought here when they were children, they deserve consideration as well. But we do need to have a secure border. We can do it with surveillance capabilities and other capabilities. But that's our commitment, and I owe it to the people living in the southern part of my state, where drug smugglers are coming across their property every single night."

Under the plan being assembled by McCain and the other senators, illegal immigrants would receive "probationary legal status." Conservatives critics call the move amnesty for these immigrants, but McCain flatly rejected that assertion.

"Well, I don't think it is amnesty, to start with," McCain said. "Second of all, what do you want to do with them? Then that is a really good response. And third of all, it's a tough path to citizenship. You've got to pay back taxes, you've got to learn English, you've got to have a clear [criminal] record, you've got to get to the back of the line behind other people who have come here legally or even waiting legally. So, I just reject that."

"I understand how emotional this is with many of my friends on both left and right," McCain said. "But I think we are making progress, and we have not come to final agreement on many of the details, some of which you just asked me about."